"I decided that I would keep that baby." She started making calls to pregnancy help centers, and Soundview Pregnancy Services in Long Island area of New York, answered. One of the members of the staff there, Barbara, talked with Angela during each week of her pregnancy, as she got educated about pregnancy and childcare. Barbara was even at the hospital when it came time for Angela to deliver her baby.

Staff at the care center helped her enroll in the a supplemental nutrition program and apply for financial assistance during her pregnancy and the first months with her son, Cameryn. At first, Angela didn't think she could turn to her mother for help, but the center helped them, too, in their strained relationship. As a result, a grandmother would help her daughter and grandson with a place to stay as Angela looked toward getting a job once Cameryn was old enough for preschool. "I always thought that people were fake, but they are genuine," she said about the people at the care center. "This is who they really are. They will help me to raise my son to be genuine."

Brenda Coe is another of the 13 women whom Picciotti-Bayer interviewed before the Supreme Court heard a case and ultimately gave a reprieve to pregnancy care centers in California. Coe and her husband were introduced by a mutual friend to Krystal, a pregnant single mother. Krystal had a 2-year-old son and couldn't raise another child in her current circumstances. Krystal had already sought help from the Pregnancy Help Center in Torrance, California, confirming her pregnancy and talking with them about adoption. Once she met the Coes, she asked them if they would adopt her baby. The center became a part of all of their lives. Brenda would accompany Krystal through ultrasounds, and helped her interview the obstetrician she would choose for her and the baby's care (the doctor also volunteered at the center). Brenda and her husband were present when their child was born, and they all stay connected through pictures and phone conversations.

Brenda is "overjoyed" by the gift of her child, and believes that "birth parents should be encouraged to be the best God wants them to be so that their adopted children can find them in a strong place."

There are more stories like Angela, Brenda and Krystal's, from so many centers around the country. In 2017, 2,752 pregnancy care centers provided almost 2 million people with free services, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute.

As the nation marked the passing of President George Herbert Walker Bush, it seemed to mourn the passing decency and civility, too. It's a credit to the way he lived his life, with family at the center of it, that he inspired such a tribute. But we ought not allow this to be a nostalgic end. We are not powerless. There are people among us who help others, who sacrifice for others and who make it possible for others to do so as well. That's certainly bound to be more fruitful than believing our good days and people are gone.

Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review Online and founding director of Catholic Voices USA. She can be contacted at klopez@nationalreview.com